The conservative central bank now has a 180-member statistics team trolling through new types of data to gain new insights into the virus-hindered economy.

Even though virus controls were lifted in May, more people working from home and social-distancing rules have forced most outlets to halve their seating.

The minister said Japan's priority should be on protecting jobs and businesses, not stimulating consumption and travel.

Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, also fell at a record pace in March, data showed.

Years after Japan made a cautious recovery from its long deflationary spell, the world's third-largest economy may be headed back into a cycle of falling prices as the coronavirus threatens a deep downturn and policymakers struggle for options. A return to deflation would be a ...

Even as Japan has stressed that the Olympics will proceed as planned, government and central bank officials are more seriously weighing the risk of cancellation when making projections for this year's economic outlook, sources said. The Bank of Japan is expected to loosen monetary policy ...

Will the world's big central banks leave U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hanging? They're certainly going to try. No major central bank has yet matched the Fed's emergency rate cut in response to the coronavirus outbreak, and there is mounting evidence that its counterparts ...

The Bank of Japan has nearly exhausted its policy ammunition for boosting the economy, as deepening negative interest rates — seen as the most likely step if it were to expand stimulus — will do more harm than good, former BOJ Deputy Gov. Toshiro ...

If it needs to ease monetary policy, the Bank of Japan will ‘certainly’ reduce short- to medium-term interest rates, Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda says.